Learning to Live Again
by ReadingIsMy6thSense13
Summary: Haley James lost everything good in her life. Now she's been uprooted by an abusive father to live with people she's never met before. Her new family. It doesn't matter how welcoming the smiles are, she just wants her old life back.
1. Prologue

**AN: Okay, so this is my first fanfiction and I know the prologue isn't very long, but I have planned for longer chapters. Also, I'd like to thank you for reading this and hope you bear with me as I get into my "writing mood". And reviews are always welcome. Thank You!**

**Disclaimer: One Tree Hill and its characters belong to some rich producer-people that are not me, therefore I own nothing. Depressing, huh?**

Prologue

I closed the door behind myself and let them fall. I let the tears fall, the sobs escape my lips. _I thought it was good, _I thought desperately. _I thought I'd done a great job._ It didn't matter to my father.

It never mattered if I did something right anymore. All that mattered was that everything was my fault. Global Warming. War. Death. The loss of his job.

_Maybe I'll get away one day,_ I thought as I carefully laid myself to bed. _Maybe they'll come back. They're not supposed to be gone. They're supposed to protect me. Maybe if I sleep, I'll see them in the morning._

As I fell into another restless night of nightmares, once more crying myself to sleep, something in me _knew _that I was lying to myself.

My name is Haley James and every night I am haunted. Every day I am in pain. Tonight I must again face the truth.

They're never coming back.


	2. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay so here is the first chapter, I know it's kind of short but they will get longer. Promise!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill!**

Chapter 1

I walked home in the soothing rain. Well, walking probably isn't the proper term for it, it's more like, dragging my feet with my head down. It had been officially one year since my life started to fall apart. Oh how I hate this day. It is the worst day‒

_Honk! Honk!_

I was brought out of my dismal thoughts by one of my most hated sounds. That damn car missing me by an inch, at the most. I should probably try to raise my head a little, at least to look out for signs of my death plummeting towards me.

I managed to avoid getting hit by a car, or as I call them death machines, and reluctantly arrived at the house that I live in.

I found Dad's beer bottles thrown about the room, what else is new? I climbed the stairs to the room I sleep in and saw no clothes strewn about in the hall. _Thank God, _I thought. For once he didn't bring another bar slut to my house. Hearing them giggle sickened me to no end.

I finally reached the room with my bed. You may have noticed that I don't call anything, except my bed, mine. It's because it has all been tainted. I can't think of my home as a place where I am ridiculed. And how is it _my_ house if others used to share it with me. They lived here too. How is it _my_ room when exactly a year ago someone shared it with me. It used to be _our _room. Now it's just a room with my bed. My bed holds no memories of them or of Dad, just me. If it didn't, I'm not sure where I'd sleep instead.

_Knock! Knock!_

My dad pokes his head through the door.

"Can I come in?" he asked. "We need to talk."

"Sure" I replied. _This could be serious. He's completely sober._

"Honey," Dad began, ignoring how I cringed at the nickname, thinking he shouldn't be allowed to call me that. "Honey...do you remember the woman I've been visiting in Tree Hill?"

_You mean the one you've cheated on about a hundred times with 20-year-old whores? _I wanted to shout_. The one who lives in the hick town, a few hours from here, Truck Hall or whatever you said? What's her name anyway? Katie? Carrie? _

"Yeah," is all I replied to him.

"Well, we're going to join her in Tree Hill with her son."

"For how long?" I asked while I gave him a calculating look.

"For as long as Karen and I are together," Dad said, finality in his tone and a dare to challenge in his eyes. "We're going to live with her and her son, Lucas."

"WHAT?!" I am beyond shocked.

"Don't complain, you little tart," Dad hissed. "If it weren't for you I'd have plenty of money for booze but seeing as your fat ass can't pull its own weight I've taken matters into my own hands."

I just stared at him. I was still in shock and the pain from his words was settling in. I hated when he criticized me sober, at least when he's drunk I can pretend he doesn't mean it.

"Oh don't look at me like a brain dead duck. She's rolling in money, you idiot. Start packing, we leave tomorrow and the quicker you're done, the sooner I can get my hands on Karen's lovely fortune. Now move your worthless ass and get packing."

And with that, Daddy dearest slammed my door shut.

After everything sunk in, and I'd let a few tears come out for the insults, I started packing. I packed my notebooks, my sketches and most importantly, my song book. I shoved my grey and black baggy clothes into a raggedy duffle bag that I've had for years. That was pretty much all the packing that needed to be done. I didn't really have much.

I wasn't very fond of the idea of being whisked off to some small town to live with a couple of strangers who I didn't know, who didn't know me and who probably didn't know my father as well as they think they do, otherwise there's no way they'd give him the time of day.

_Although, getting out of this tormenting house might be a relief, _I thought. _And it's not like I have any friends to say good bye to. _They'd either ditched me or I'd pushed them away. I probably won't try at this new school either. I'll probably try to heal a bit, but I won't look for friends. After all, no one wanted to be friends with a dark freak like me. I'm too haunted.

As I laid my head down to rest, I looked at the clock. 11:25pm. I remembered. I was reminded once again of the worst day of my life and the most dreaded moment I've had to relive each night. The tears poured once again and I clutched a familiar photo of three women to my heart. Then I felt sleep overtake me.

**Please review! And thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello readers, if I haven't lost you. Sorry, I know it's been awhile but I lost my inspiration for a bit. I pretty sure it's back so don't lose faith, okay? Unless of course you guys are people like me who completely disregard these "Author Notes" and are reading the story while I ramble on pointlessly. To no one. Wow, I never knew much that could hurt. I might start reading these annoying things...Meh, whatever, I refuse to change. **

**Oh and FYI, everything in **_italics_** are either Haley's thoughts or her nightmare. Hopefully you guys can tell the difference. And the _Bold and italic _words are Haly's Dad's writing. Which should be clear but just to help.**

**Disclaimer: Dude, do I seriously have to repeat myself? I OWN NOTHING!**

**On with the story!!**

* * *

Chapter 2

_I was joking. I was laughing. I was smiling. I was happy. _

_This was all a dream. I knew that. But I continued to laugh and smile and joke because that was all that I had been doing, a year ago. Because that was all I was doing with Them._

* * *

I woke up to the steady beeping of my alarm clock. I was panting and sweaty. I'm not sure why, but that's always how I woke up from my nightmares. But then again, why wouldn't I? I could never wake myself up and it's not as if Dad would wake me up. He never heard my screams.

I looked around the room that I sleep in and saw the duffle bag. I remembered what Dad and I had "discussed" the night before, and how my life was going to change again. I really hoped that change wouldn't be an annual occurrence, but I wasn't a very hopeful person so it wasn't a surprise that my hopes were, once again, shot to Hell.

I got up from my bed and changed into my grey, baggy clothes. I grabbed the worn duffle bag, filled with my only possessions and headed downstairs.

I found one of Dad's sloppy notes in the kitchen:

_**Unwanted Daughter,**_

_**Pack up the car and wait for the movers to come. Don't be lazy. Watch to make sure none of my family photos are broken. Once the movers have packed up, drive the car and lead them to Tree Hill. And try not to run yourself off the road, you might break my stuff.**_

_**Don't worry your stupid little head about finding Tree Hill. I taped a map to the dashboard of the car.**_

_**I'm already on my way to Tree Hill.**_

_**Don't call me.**_

My Dad must've been in a really good mood. He only wrote four hurtful things in the note and he usually signs them: "Don't call me, you little bitch."

I assumed that he had left for Tree Hill already last night. He probably didn't want to spend more time than necessary with a teenager he hates.

* * *

_Yes, They were here - laughing and smiling and joking with me. They were here and I was happy. I was carefree. I was liberated. I was protected. All because of Them._

_They were making funny faces. They were doing impersonations. They were making the silliest comments. They were making me laugh so hard that my sides were aching with pain. But it was a good ache and a welcome pain. _

* * *

I sat in the car looking at the map. It was crude, messy and most likely wrong. But I would buy a better map at the gas station when I filled up the car. Dad never does it so I always do.

The movers had come and gone. I didn't want to lead them and they said they knew the way. Just in case they didn't, I programmed their GPS. If I couldn't shout the directions at them, at least something will. Now that I thought about it, I realized that I hadn't tipped them. I was barely aware of them when they were here. I was too busy packing all of Dad's favourite woman-loving art pieces into the car.

_These damn art pieces are so heavy,_ I thought. _And ugly. Dad only kept these anyway because they made him seem sensitive or some crap to the bar sluts he brought to the house. They actually believed him - which says a lot about their instincts, desperation and, of course, their intelligence. Or maybe they actually believed him when he said that he wanted to date them. Either way, everything he said to them was crap and they fell for it, every damn time._

All of these thoughts ran through my head as I was driving. I arrived at the gas station. Filled up the car myself and bought a proper map. Then, it was time to start driving again.

But as I was about to leave, I hesitated. This was it. This was when I would leave this small town, only to travel to another one. It had been my only home and the only place I knew. It held the memories of my childhood. But it also held painful, heart breaking memories. And with that last thought, I popped in a cheesy, no-name brand CD, stepped on the pedal and drove.

* * *

_But then They screamed. _

_I was thrown and tossed. I bled as Their shrieking echoed among the pounding of my head. _

_I saw a face, until bright light overtook the image._

_I am in pain. They are gone._


End file.
